Miami Beach mulls delay in panic button ordinance

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Some Miami Beach hotels are asking the city to delay a law requiring panic buttons to protect housekeepers against sexual harassment and assault.

The Miami Beach City Commission passed the ordinance last July and gave hotels until August 2019 provide the panic buttons.

The Miami Herald reports Commissioner Michael Gongora introduced a proposal on Wednesday to delay implementation until Aug. 1, 2020. He says several hotels are concerned with meeting the 2019 deadline.

Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association president Wendy Kallergis says the additional time would help many smaller hotels, adding that panic buttons are not an inexpensive item.

Officials at the city’s largest resort, the Fountainebleu, said in a statement that they’ll comply with the Aug. 1 deadline.